In praise of ... gradualism

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/29/in-praise-of-gradualism

Version 0 of 1.

At first sight it is absurd that the NHS is considering funding any organisation that can credibly promise to help fat people reduce their weight by a mere 3% over a year. What is the use of fiddling with grams of fat when the burden is measured in kilos? Either obesity is a problem serious enough to warrant social intervention on the scale that smoking has had, or else the concern with it is a fatuous moral panic, in which case nothing should be done at all. In fact, though, this proposal marks a praiseworthy outbreak of unhysterical gradualism. Losing a little weight is better than losing none, or gaining it, and even a reduction of 3% has measurably beneficial effects. It is also, realistically, as much as most people will manage over a year. Losing weight, like so much else, is largely a matter of self-discipline, and that is in itself a matter of incremental improvements. We welcome this return to the wisdom of the Fabians.